Bop to the Top
by waitingondaisies
Summary: When Harry and Draco meet as freshmen in high school, it's enemies at first sight. The intervening years only serve to deepen their divide as they compete against each other– while still performing on the same dance team. Their senior year, they discover, to their mutual displeasure, that they've committed to going to the same college.
1. Chapter 1

AN: further notes about the fic, most of the male characters are female in this story, and i don't know like anything about competitive dance, so im sure this isn't super reflective of what it really is

* * *

**_November, 2012_**

"Why did I let you talk me into this?" Harry asks Ron.

Though they have only known each other since the beginning of the school year, and they are already best friends. In September they had tried out for field hockey together, and though Harry had made the team and Ron hadn't, they'd stayed friends.

And now, they were currently in the audience section of the school auditorium along with all the other dance team hopefuls. Harry absently tugs at her sports bra as she glances around.

"Because it'll be fun!" Ron says. "The worst that can happen is we don't make it this year and have to try again next year."

Harry rolls her eyes. "But why _dance _? I've never danced before! We could've done something like swim."

"Well, at least one of my siblings has done all the other winter sports, and I want to do something _else _. And besides, the flyers all said that beginners are welcome, and I swear the way that you play field hockey looks like dancing. "

"If you say so," Harry says skeptically, shrugging. The motion causes her shoulders to brush against her hair, which she realizes that it must still be down. So she sighs and begins the laborious process of collecting all of her messy hair into a ponytail.

Before Harry can say anything else to Ron, Harry notices that someone is striding over towards them.

She's about Ron's height– a bit taller than Harry– and has silky blonde hair that's braided flat against her head, her silver eyes glinting. She's wearing workout gear that looks expensive and seems perfectly tailored to fit her.

Harry thinks she's seen this girl around, though Harry can't quite put a name to the face, nor think of anything specific about her.

The girl comes to a halt right in front of Harry and Ron and says, "My name is Draco. Draco Malfoy."

Harry's lips quirk up at the sound of the name, and she hears Ron snort beside her. Harry decides that she must not have met Malfoy before, because she would have remembered a name that was that ridiculous.

"Think my name is funny, do you?" Malfoy asks. Then she runs her eyes over Ron, and says, "I don't need to ask what _yours _is. With hair that red and gear that cheap, you must be a Weasley."

Harry frowns at that and angles her body slightly away from Malfoy and towards Ron. In the few short months since they'd met, Ron has become one of her best friends, and Harry can't help but feel irritated with this girl who seems to have walked over just to insult her friend.

Ron splutters incoherently and Harry glances between Ron and Malfoy, trying to decide what to do.

Malfoy rolls her eyes dramatically, then makes eye contact with Harry again. Harry feels one of her eyebrows raise slightly without even thinking about it, and she decides to wait for whatever Malfoy is going to say next. Harry can always roast her ass after whatever she says next, after all.

"I'm sure you've noticed that some groups are _better _than others at this school. I can introduce you to my friends, and you'll see," Malfoy says, sticking her hand out for Harry to shake.

Harry lowers her brow and rolls her eyes. Harry already _has _a best friend and she certainly doesn't need a new one that trash talks her actual best friend. Harry shoves her hands into her pockets, and says, "I think I can make my own friends. Thanks anyways."

Whatever Malfoy was going to say in response is cut off by the dance team coach calling them to order, so Malfoy scoffs and walks off with a final glare at Harry and Ron.

Harry hopes that she never has to see Malfoy again.

* * *

**_January, 2015_**

"You have to be the one to get the solo, Harry," Ron says. "You worked so hard and your audition was _amazing _."

Harry nods absently. In the two years since she and Ron made the dance team, dance has quickly taken over her life– despite the constant annoyance of Malfoy's presence. Harry, Ron, Malfoy, and Malfoy's friend, Greengrass had been the only freshmen to make the team, and this had led to a fierce competition: Harry and Ron versus Malfoy and Greengrass.

Since then, Ron and Harry have been joined by Ron's sister, Ginny. Unfortunately, Malfoy's side has also grown, as she and Daphne were joined by both Daphne's sister, Astoria, and another girl named Parkinson.

Honestly, the thing that annoyed Harry the most about Astoria joining was that her presence forced Harry to refer to both sisters by first name, which didn't really fit the enemy vibe they were going for.

The in-team competition between them had only increased in intensity with each passing month– even when dance was out of season– to the point where Harry had chosen to go to dance camp instead of playing field hockey during the fall, just to get an edge on Malfoy.

Ginny says, "Yeah, McGonagall would have to be blind not to see that Harry obviously deserve the solo."

Harry jumps when McGonagall, who has appeared out of nowhere, says, "I'd have to be blind not to see what, Ms Weasley?"

_Fuck, _Harry hadn't even noticed that McGonagall was in the room. McGonagall's presence causes Harry's nerves to act up again. She nervously twirls her hair around her fingers.

"Nothing, nothing," Ginny says hurriedly.

McGonagall scrutinizes Ginny for a long moment, then sweeps her gaze over the rest of the team.

Harry bounces forward nervously onto the balls of her feet, then settles back down onto her heels.

Ron reaches over and squeezes Harry's forearm reassuringly. Harry glances over at her best friend gratefully.

"I've made a decision for the solo," McGonagall says, pausing dramatically.

Harry's heartbeat picks up and she starts bouncing again. The solo was up between Harry and Malfoy, and Harry thinks that she would have to die if she lost the solo to Malfoy. Especially since this is the first time they've ever truly competed against each other; being on the same team doesn't give them much opportunity for true competition.

"Well?" Ron interjects impatiently. Harry thinks that as much as she wants to be the one to get the solo, Ron might actually want her to get it more.

"I was getting there, Ms Weasley," McGonagall says primly. "I've decided that the solo will go to Ms Potter. I'm sorry Ms Malfoy, but your technique just didn't bring the _right _emotion to the performance. I'm sure there will be a solo better suited to your talents soon."

Harry whoops excitedly, then gasps as Ron hugs her, driving all the air out of her lungs. Ginny slaps her on the back.

"Can't– breathe–," Harry says breathlessly.

Ron releases the hug and says, "Right, sorry. But you did it!"

Harry grins broadly and says, "I did!"

She finally remembers that she had had competition for the part and glances around curiously to see what Malfoy is doing. It takes her mere seconds to determine that Malfoy is no longer in the auditorium.

"Did anyone see where Malfoy went?" Harry asks the group at large.

"Why, did you want to gloat?" Daphne asks scathingly. Parkinson has her hand around Daphne's arm in a vice grip, which Harry eyes oddly before deciding it's none of her business.

Harry frowns and shakes her head, then says, "No, that's more Malfoy's style. I was just wondering where she'd gone."

"Whatever," Daphne says, rolling her eyes. "If you must know, she went to the bathroom."

Harry frowns and glances over at the door to the bathroom just in time to see it slam shut. Harry knows immediately that Malfoy must be upset. Harry wonders for a moment why none of Malfoy's friends have gone after her, then sees that Daphne is caught in an argument with Parkinson, Daphne's arm still held in Parkinson's hand.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Harry says to Ron and Ginny.

Ron narrow her eyes and says, "Are you sure she's worth it."

Harry shrugs. "I don't know. And if nothing else, I do have to go, so: two birds, one stone."

"Good luck, I guess," Ginny says.

Harry throws another look at Parkinson and Daphne, then says quietly, "If you can, you should figure out what they're arguing about, it seems intense."

Ron glances over as well and says, "That? Parkinson's into Malfoy, that's probably all it is."

Harry nods and says, "Nevermind, then." Then she finally walks off towards the bathroom. The walk across the gym seems to take longer than normal as she tries to think of what she'll find when she gets there– and what she'll do with what she does find.

When Harry makes it to the bathroom she opens the door, and the first thing she hears is the sound of the sink running.

Harry steps around the corner and sees Malfoy standing at the sink, her hands held under the stream of water.

"Well? Did you come here to gloat?" Malfoy asks snidely.

Harry shakes her head and steps further into the bathroom. "I–"

"Whatever," Malfoy says, interrupting her. "We all know that McGonagall is friends with your parents and that's why you got the part."

Before Harry manages to get over her shock, Malfoy has turned off the water and brushed past her towards the bathroom door.

Harry whirls around to stare at Malfoy's back as she pulls the door open. Harry wants to protest, to say that she worked hard for her audition, that she's earned it, but before she can, Malfoy has gone, the door slamming shut behind her once again.

As if in a dream, Harry walks over to the toilet stall.

By the time she walks out of the bathroom, Harry has managed to shake off her stupor, replacing it with a determination to dance her heart off and prove, once and for all, that she's earned her solo.

* * *

**_February, 2015_**

It is the day of the dance competition, which is the day where Harry will perform her very first solo. She's been practicing as much as she can– to the point where her dad had said that he'd heard her humming the song in her sleep.

Harry is now running through her routine backstage for Ron, Ginny, and Luna. The way her body mindlessly flows from one move to the other makes it clear that all the practice was worth it.

As she finishes, her friends burst into applause. She grins broadly.

"How was that?" Harry asks, after she catches her breath.

"Absolutely amazing," Ron says.

Ginny nods in agreement and says, "Yeah, you definitely deserve that solo."

Harry smiles again, shakes her head, and says, "Thank you, but I mean, is there anything I need to fix?"

"I've got something," Malfoy says, "I don't think you're bringing the right– _emotion _to the performance."

Harry throws a look at where Malfoy has seemingly appeared from nowhere, then turns her back firmly. "I feel like there has to be something," Harry says loudly.

Ron glances over at Malfoy, then fixes her eyes firmly on Harry and says, "I think you're losing the beat a little bit at the middle part, but you pick it up again so quickly that it _should _be okay."

Harry nods. She has been trying really hard to fix that, but it's hard when all her extra practice at home is with her parents. As hard as they try, they're not dancers, and therefore they can't really tell her when she's messing up, especially when it's something as fleeting as the timing during one part of the song. "Do you–"

Malfoy interjects, "Only you, Potter, would be able to land a solo, and then not manage to keep the beat. Oh wait, maybe it's because you didn't deserve the solo in the first place… We're doomed."

"Fuck off, Malfoy," Ginny says, getting to her feet.

Harry throws an annoyed look at Malfoy, then says to Ginny, "Just ignore her, she's just jealous I got the solo and she didn't."

It's times like this that the close quarters of their warmup space really gets to Harry. Though, with how persistently Malfoy has been harassing her, she can only imagine that even if they did have more space, Malfoy would probably still find a way to hang around and be fucking irritating.

"Obviously," Ginny says, "but that doesn't mean her bleating isn't fucking annoying."

"Five minute warning!" McGonagall calls.

"Fuck," Harry mutters to herself. She'd been hoping to manage another run through before they went onstage.

"It's a shame 'break a leg' is an expression for luck, because I really do hope you break a leg," Malfoy says.

Harry can tell that Malfoy thinks this was supposed to be clever, but really Malfoy just sounds so _stupid _. "You think you're so _clever _, but we all know better," Harry says with a glare.

Harry knows its petty of her to care at all what Malfoy says, but all the snipes that Malfoy has been aiming at her over the past several weeks have been increasingly aggravating, and Harry is nearing her breaking point.

Malfoy smirks and says, "I suppose lesser minds must have trouble understanding the things that greater minds already know."

Forget nearing her breaking point, Harry has just reached it. She snarls and launches herself at Malfoy. She's had _enough _and she _will _teach Malfoy not to fuck with her.

Before Harry can manage anything more than an angry sound and a lunge in Malfoy's direction, Ginny and Ron each grab one of Harry's hands and tow her away. They end up where everyone is grouping up to make their way to the stage.

"C'mon Harry, you gotta get your head in the dance, we probably only have a minute or two left before we're on– before it's time for your solo," Ron says.

Harry mutters incoherently for a moment, then says, "Fine, fine you're right. I need to focus, but god, I just wanna teach her a lesson."

"And we'll help you," Ginny says. "Just, you gotta wait till after the dance."

Harry nods. She sucks in a deep breath, then lets it out slowly. It's time for her to focus on one thing, and one thing only: her solo.

By the time Harry has settled and refocused herself, McGonagall is back.

"Is everyone ready?" McGonagall asks.

Harry nervously nods her head along with the rest of the troupe.

The walk to the stage entrance takes no time at all, and before Harry knows it they're all lined up, ready to step on stage. Harry is at the back of the line because her solo calls for a late entrance. She nervously resumes bouncing onto the balls of her feet before settling back down onto her heels.

The rest of the troupe heads on stage without Harry. She and McGonagall are the only two people left.

McGonagall turns to her and says, "You've got this, Potter. I chose you for a reason, and you're going to do us all proud." Then she turns and hurries off to sit in the audience with the rest of the troupe leaders.

McGonagall's vote of confidence only serves to strain Harry's nerves further despite the intention. She stares blankly at McGonagall's retreating back.

Then the song begins, and Harry has to hurry to her start position. From here she is able to watch her troupe-mates performing, and she almost starts to lose herself in the rhythm of watching her friends.

But then her nervousness about her impending solo returns, pulling her out of her enjoyment. She rolls her shoulders, takes a deep breath, and shakes out her arms. Then she makes the mistake of looking out into the audience, spotting the judges. Her stomach swoops nervously before she's able to yank her eyes away,

Then she hears the musical cue that means there are mere seconds left until it's time for her to go on stage. Harry gets into her starting position and takes one last deep breath.

The music comes to a sudden halt, cueing Harry to release her breath and run to her starting point on stage. She slides between Colin and Daphne, as she's supposed to. The troupe is arrayed in a semicircle, and Harry comes to a halt with her back to the audience– and the judges– so that she's facing the midpoint of the semicircle.

Unfortunately, it's Malfoy who holds the point of the semicircle. Malfoy has just enough time to mouth something that Harry is sure is insulting before the music crescendos again and Harry is launching into motion.

As Harry shoves down her annoyance with Malfoy, she snaps her arms out, twirling around to face the audience, her head coming up to boldly.

Harry stalks to the front of the stage and drops into a crouch. She only stays down for the briefest of moments before she leaps to her feet again, spinning off to the side. She rushes at the semicircle of trope members, and the people closest to her lean onto their toes, reaching their arms up above their heads.

Harry cowers back in response and backpedals away from the circle. She loops around and then approaches from the back of the circle. As she nears her troupe members she makes eye contact with Malfoy, who takes the opportunity to wink– mockingly– at her.

Harry ignores it as best she can as she responds as she ought to to the semicircle rebuffing her: by recoiling once again.

Then she circles around and repeats the approach and rebuff for a final time, ending at the opposite side of the circle from where she had begun.

Harry moves to the front of the stage and flows into the most important part of her solo. It's a flurry of motion meant to represent the uncertainty and rejection of the part she had just finished. And despite the emotions she's portraying, her chest swells with pride as she lands each move perfectly.

The finale of this part is a forward somersault that ends with Harry on her knees before the crowd, her arms raised to the sky. The music mellows out for a moment to allow her to catch her breath, and in the interlude, the crowd bursts into applause.

Harry has to do her best to keep her mind on the performance, because the dance isn't quite over yet, but it's hard to when there is something about the applause that hits differently, deeper, now when Harry knows it is for _her _.

But she can't dwell on it yet, because the music is swelling once again. Harry gets to her feet and lowers her arms slowly as she turns to face the semicircle again. She takes a few hesitant steps towards the circle, then comes to a halt.

She is still holding the pride of successfully completing the most difficult part of her solo close to her chest as she moves into the finale of the performance.

Harry whirls back around to face the audience, then walks backwards towards the circle. She is grateful that Ron and Ginny are part of the troupe because this next part would be near impossible without people she trusts here.

When Harry feels the presence of bodies behind her and knows that the rest of the troupe has closed their ranks like they are supposed to, Harry comes to a halt.

She spreads her arms and falls backwards. Harry sighs in relief when she feels the press of hands against her back, catching her.

From there it's smooth sailing to the end of the number, and the next thing Harry knows, she's taking her final bows with the rest of the group and running offstage.

As soon as they are clear of the stage, Ron and Ginny stop and clap Harry on the back.

"That was amazing!" Ginny says.

Ron nods and says, "You nailed it!"

They resume walking, then. They're heading towards a hallway near the auditorium where they can meet with their parents while they wait for the rest of the troupes to perform, and for the final scores all around.

"Thanks guys," Harry says. "I can't believe–"

"_ I _can't believe that you fucked it up so badly," Malfoy says, interrupting Harry. "I mean c'mon, you had how long to practice that? And you _still _nearly lost the timing."

Harry looks around and is disappointed to see that they've arrived at the hallway and that there's a crowd of parents gathering. In other words, there's witnesses.

"Lay off, Malfoy," Ron says.

"I'm just saying," Malfoy continues, "if we lose this thing, it's on Potter."

"I think that to find the person responsible for our loss, Malfoy, you ought to look in the mirror."

With that, she grabs Ron's and Ginny's hands and turns and walks off into the small crowd of waiting parents, cutting off any chance Malfoy might have had to respond. A part of Harry is trying to tell her that this is a cowardly move, but Harry thinks that it's better to end the confrontation now, before it escalates to violence– again.

"I can't believe she said that? I mean I can, it is Malfoy, but god, your part was incredible, Harry," Ginny says.

"Yeah," Ron says, "if we lose it'd be because of her trying to fuck you over the whole time."

As Harry finally spots her own parents, she ruminates on how _sick _she is of Malfoy trying to ruin things. "Only two more years," Harry mutters. "Then we'll graduate and I'll never have to see her again."

* * *

AN: the more reviews i get, the faster i'm motivated to write! so please leave your thoughts below! (i also rly appreciate favs and follows, but reviews hit different :D)


	2. Chapter 2

**_December, 2015_**

Harry pulls out her phone during one of their rehearsal breaks and sees that she has an email notification. She goes ahead and clicks on it, though she's sure it's just going to be another spam email that she'll have to delete.

But then she sees that it's from Hogwarts University, and her heart drops. This must be her admission decision. She opens the email with hands that she has to force not to shake.

And then nearly drops her phone in her excitement.

"I got in!" She exclaims.

"You what?" Ginny asks absently, clearly still absorbed in her own phone.

"I got into Hogwarts University! I just got the email, I'm in!" Harry says.

Ginny looks up from her phone and says, "Oh my god, we need to celebrate! Fuck, where did Ron go–"

Whatever she was going to add is cut off by a loud screech from one of the other groups of dancers.

"Was that–" Harry starts to say.

"Parkinson?" Ginny finishes.

"Yeah, I think it was." There, Harry finally spots Parkinson standing over by Malfoy and looking horrified.

"I'd say that I wonder what's wrong with her," Ginny says, "but honestly she probably just found out something stupid, and I'm way more focused on celebrating you."

Harry smiles at Ginny. Trying to put together a response. Before she can manage it though, her thoughts are scattered by Parkinson practically shouting, "You _cannot_ go to Hogwarts University, Draco! I'll never get to see you again!"

"Oh no," Harry mouths. This cannot be happening. She's picked up on the implications of Malfoy getting into Hogwarts immediately– only the early admission decisions are out, now. And Hogwarts has binding early decision applications. That means that both Harry and _Malfoy_ are committed to go to Hogwarts. Together.

Harry looks over at Ginny with panic in her eyes. "Please tell me I heard that wrong," she asks quietly, trying to deny it.

Ginny just shakes her head slowly.

"Pansy, I got in early decision, so I _have_ to go now," Malfoy says, sounding annoyed.

Oh no. This is not happening.

"This is _not_ happening," Harry says, too loudly, disbelievingly. Then she groans when she sees Malfoy turn slowly to face her. Fuck. _Fuck_.

"Did you have something to say, Potter?" Malfoy says. "Or are you just jealous that I'll be going to Hogwarts and you _won't?_"

Immediately, Harry takes great pleasure in saying, "Actually, I also just got into Hogwarts."

"You didn't." Malfoy says flatly.

This makes Harry smile. "I did," she confirms. It's a bit of a consolation that Malfoy is also going to be miserable because of this disaster.

"Why the hell did you apply to Hogwarts, anyways?" Malfoy says. "I've been talking about how I'm going there for months now." She glances over at Parkinson, then says, "Though I guess even my friends didn't manage to pick up on that…"

Harry rolls her eyes. A moment of silence passes; Malfoy is still standing in front of Harry with her arms crossed. Harry says dryly, "Did you want something? Because we're gonna be seeing an awful lot of each other for the next four years, you know."

At this, Malfoy huffs angrily, turns on her heel, then stalks off. Parkinson follows closely after her, saying something about how Malfoy shouldn't go to Hogwarts.

Harry wholeheartedly agrees with Parkinson, for once.

"Well, that does put a damper on the celebrations," Ginny says brightly. She looks around the room and says, "And where on Earth did Ron go?"

Harry runs her hand through her ponytail as she surveys the room. "That is a good question. And it really does." After a pause, she adds, "Fuck Malfoy."

Ginny sits back down on the ground. "So, I'm assuming you really didn't know Malfoy was applying to Hogwarts?"

After one last look around the room for Ron, Harry joins Ginny on the ground. "Yeah, I had no idea. I probably wouldn't have applied if I'd known– or at least, I wouldn't have done a binding application." Harry groans. "God, four more years of Malfoy…"

"It could be worse," Ginny says bracingly.

Harry blinks. After a moment of considering this and trying to see what could possibly be worse than four more years of seeing Malfoy, Harry says, "How."

"I hadn't thought that far," Ginny says with a shrug. "And besides, you'll have four whole years to figure it out!"

* * *

_**July, 2016**_

"Hey mom," Harry says, swinging into the kitchen.

"Hey Harry," Mom mimics.

Harry rolls her eyes at her mom's back. Then she walks the rest of the way into the kitchen and plops down into a chair at the table. "Guess what," she says.

"What?"

"I got my dorm assignment!"

Mom sets down the dishes she'd been washing and dries her hands off. She turns to face Harry and says, "Alright, you've got my _full _attention now. Tell me all about it, did you get Gryffindor?"

On her way down to the kitchen, Harry had thought about saying she'd gotten assigned to Slytherin– the worst dorm on campus, according to her dad and godfather, at least– but she'd decided to at least tell her mom straight out. Accordingly, she says, "I'm in Gryffindor! I'm on the second floor and my roommate's name is Lavender."

"Sirius is going to be so relieved," Mom says, with a bit of a smirk.

"Are the other dorms really that bad?" Harry asks. She's glad that her dad is working late today, because as much fun as it would be to poke fun at his still-ridiculously strong vendetta against a freshman dorm at his alma mater, it'll be a lot simpler to just get a straight answer from her mom.

Mom leans back against the counter. "I mean, really, they all have advantages and disadvantages. Like, uh, let me see. If it's the same as when I went there, one of them has air conditioning, one of them is right next to the dining hall, one of them has bigger rooms, and so on.

"And during orientation, your orientation aides will encourage some rivalry between the different dorms– to encourage bonding with your own hallmates."

"So," Harry says, "did your orientation aide do too good of a job, then?"

Mom barks out a laugh that makes Harry think her mom has been spending too much time with Sirius. "They certainly did," Mom says. "Twenty years later, and my husband and his best friend are still keeping the rivalry alive."

Harry nods her head solemnly. "Oh, I can tell." She pauses, then adds thoughtfully, "What do you think, should I tell Dad that I was put in Slytherin? I mean it's entirely possible, given that freshmen housing is randomly assigned…"

"God yes, please do. He could use the shock," Mom says with a laugh. "So tell me, does this mean you know where all your friends are living, too?"

"Yeah! Ron's also in Gryffindor– you remember, she applied regular decision and got in– with some girl named Hermione. Apparently, Hermione texted Ron mere seconds after they got the assignment or something like that, Ron might have been exaggerating a bit. Anyways, Ron's worried about what rooming with her is gonna be like. And I'm excited to see the fireworks."

"What about your other little friend?" Mom says.

Another friend going to Hogwarts… Harry draws a blank when she tries to think of someone. "Uh, who?"

"You know, Draco, she's going to Hogwarts too. You've certainly talked about it enough."

"She's not a _friend_ though!" Harry protests.

Mom waves her hand through the air as if waving Harry's protest away. "Details, details. What dorm is she in?"

Harry huffs. "What makes you think I know what dorm she's in?"

Mom just raises an eyebrow and stares at Harry expectantly. Harry does her best to match the stare, but is the first to break when she says, "Fine, fine, she's in Slytherin."

Harry didn't even want to know, but Harry and Malfoy are both in the dance team group chat, despite graduating, and they'd all been announcing their news there.

A grin breaks out across Mom's face. "James is going to get an absolute _kick_ out of this!" she says.

Groaning, Harry plants her face on the kitchen table.

"Oh, oh, I've got it! Tell James you're rooming with Draco in Slytherin! He'll have a coronary– and then try to go pick a fistfight with Lucius!"

With her face still planted in the table, Harry says, "So you want to murder Dad?"

Harry hears her mom hum thoughtfully for a moment. "I suppose I do! And what a way for him to go," Mom says wistfully.

"Anyways," Harry says bluntly, "I move in on August 19th, so be ready for that. I'm going to go talk to Ron or something, see you." Then she rushes out of the kitchen before her mom can say anything else.

Harry rushes up the stairs to her room and into the safety of her room. She flops dramatically onto her bed and pulls out her phone to text Ron about how crazy her mom is. She pulls up their chat only to see that Ron has already texted her about how crazy her own mom is.

After responding to Ron, Harry flings her arm out and sighs. Only one more month till she's out of here.

* * *

**_August 19th, 2016_**

"Why did you have to have a room on the second floor?" Dad says with a grunt.

"Didn't– choose–" Harry gasps out. Her dad knows damn well that freshmen don't get to choose their rooms.

Currently, Harry and her dad are lugging Harry's mini fridge up the stairs to her dorm room, and the narrow staircase is _not_ easy to navigate. On top of that, Harry has somehow ended up as the second one up the stairs, meaning she is bearing most of the fridge's weight.

Finally, they reach the landing for the second floor and Harry gratefully releases her end of the fridge. After a moment to catch her breath, she says, "Why the hell did you go first? That thing was _heavy_!"

Dad grins. "Age before beauty, my dear, and you're the one who's an athlete!"

Harry groans, then gently bangs her head onto the top of the minifridge.

"Oh– we gotta move, there's someone coming up the stairs," Dad says.

Harry reaches her arms down to lift the fridge, but then her dad nudges her out of the way.

"I've got it from here," he says. Then he lifts the minifridge– all on his own– and carries it down the hall.

Harry spares a moment to scoff in disbelief before she hurries after him, then past him, so that she'll be able to open the door for him. They've already made several trips back and forth from the car, unloading Harry's things and carrying them all the way up the stairs.

Harry's mom had gone off to drop in on one of her old favorite professors, so it's just Harry and her dad unloading on their own. Lavender still has yet to show up.

That is, until now. Because as Harry opens the door to her dorm so her dad can get into the room, she sees that there's someone sitting on the previously-unclaimed bed. Mid-length, spiraled hair frames a dark brown, heart-shaped face. It only takes Harry seconds to confirm that this is her roommate, Lavender, a confirmation Harry is able to make thanks to her preparatory Facebook stalking.

"Hi, I'm Harry," Harry says, still holding the door open for her dad. "And this is my dad."

"I'm James," Dad says, after he sets the fridge down.

At Harry's greeting, Lavender looks up from where she had been browsing her phone.

"And I'm Lavender!" she says. "My parents dropped me off, like, across campus because we couldn't find the dorm, and, you know, the traffic is so bad that they figured I'd make it here faster on foot than they would in the car. And I did!"

"Are they still lost?" Dad asks. "Because I can give them directions if they need them." He puffs out his chest, and Harry knows he's about to either do or say something embarrassing, so she elbows him in the side.

"No, that's alright," Lavender says. "They got directions from someone else! They're on their way now. Thank you, though!"

"We still have more things to bring in. Let's go get them, Dad," Harry says firmly, hoping he'll take the hint and get the hell out of here with her. The potential for her dad to embarrass Harry seems to have passed, but it's best not to give him any opportunities.

Her dad gives her a knowing look. Harry throws a pleading one right back at him. The last thing she wants is to be embarrassed by her dad in front of the person she has to live with for the next year. Thankfully, her dad just winks at her then saunters out of the room.

Harry resists the urge to facepalm as she follows him out of the room.

Several trips later, all of Harry's belongings have been transferred to her room. During their final trip inside, they're stopped by someone in a highlighter-yellow t-shirt.

"Welcome to Hogwarts! How's moving in going!?" says the newcomer, too enthusiastically.

Harry blinks for a moment, then says, "Uh, it's going well. This is our last load."

"So, what's your name?" Dad asks.

"I'm Cedric and I'm the Orientation Aide for Gryffindor!" Cedric says, still intensely enthusiastic, and emphasizing the words "orientation aide" in such a way that Harry can tell that he means for them to be capitalized.

"Nice to meet you Cedric," says Dad. "I'm James, and I'd shake your hand, but." He jiggles the box he is holding.

Harry mutters, "God," under her breath. Her dad is just– such a _dad_.

"Well, James, if you're almost done moving– wait, sorry, what's your name?" Cedric asks Harry.

"It's Harry."

"It's awesome to meet you, Harry! So, if you're almost done moving Harry in, James, I'm going to have to ask you to start moving on out! You'll get a chance to say your final goodbyes after the Headmaster's welcome this evening, and until then, there's lots of activities planned for to keep the parents busy while we work on getting your kids' orientation going!"

Harry stands in silence for a moment, a little awed at how fast he'd gotten all that out.

Then Cedric makes little shooing motions with his hands. "Go on, get her all unpacked!" he says. "It's almost time to go! Go! Go!"

Harry quickly turns and resumes her hike up the stairs. She thinks back to the schedule she received when she checked in, and realizes that this is one of the people she's going to be spending an awful lot of time with over the next couple of days.

She reaches the relative safety of her dorm room and is relieved to see that her dad has followed her in rather than hang back to chat with Cedric. It had definitely been a risk, because Cedric seems like the kind of guy her dad would vibe with.

"Boisterous guy, isn't he?" Dad asks.

Lavender looks up from where she's carefully placing her clothes into her dresser. Harry assumes that Lavender's family must have shown up at some point and unloaded all of her things. It must have been while Harry and her dad had been out, because although Harry hadn't seen any of Lavender's family members, all of Lavender's things now seem to be here.

"I take it you met Cedric," Lavender says.

Harry nods. "Oh, we definitely met Cedric."

"He was not that bad," Dad says. "Orientation aides, back in my day, were ten times as bad! My father thought one of my aides was going to explode because she was vibrating so fast."

"Sure," Harry says, her tone clearly stating that she knows her dad is exaggerating.

"It's true!" he says, with a wide grin spread across his face.

This doesn't deserve a response, so Harry stays silent as she's rearranging the boxes on her bed so everything will fit. Her dad has already set his load down and is still standing in the doorway once she finishes this task, so she says, "Don't you have somewhere to be…"

Dad doesn't look at her. Instead, he's looking anywhere but at her.

"C'mon, getting to see the parent side of Hogwarts orientation was all you could talk about for _weeks_," Harry says.

Her dad clears his throat. "Yes, well, it's different now that it's here."

Harry rolls her eyes. "Do I need to call mom? You know she's with Flitwick now, probably deep in that nerdy shit."

Dad jumps a little at this threat, making Harry grin with satisfaction. He says, "No, no, there's no need, I'll go. But first!" He opens his arms wide.

Harry gets to her feet and steps into the hug. Her dad's arms crush around her tighter than normal, and it finally sinks in how hard this must be for him.

She's an only child; for years and years, she's been her parents' pride and joy. But now they're going to be 'empty nesters'. And Harry is going to be on her own. So Harry wraps her arms around her dad and pretends not to notice the tears she feels dropping onto her head. And if he's pretending not to notice the tears soaking into his shirt, well, what about it.

After a long moment, they break apart. Harry discretely dashes her tears away. She clears her throat at the same time that her dad does, and this drags an identical chuckle out of both of them.

"Well," Harry says, before they can dissolve into hysterical laughter.

"I guess I should go," Dad says.

Harry nods. "We'll be seeing each other this afternoon anyways."

"Right."

They stand and stare at each other for a moment before Dad finally turns and leaves. Harry stays, staring at where he'd disappeared down the hallway. Eventually, she returns to unpacking her belongings.

"That was sweet," Lavender says.

Right. Harry has a roommate. A roommate who had just witnessed the entire exchange between Harry and her dad. Harry realizes, with a small amount of horror, that she might be in for a difficult transition from being an only child, one with privacy whenever she wanted it, to sharing her living space 24/7.

"Thanks," Harry says awkwardly. To change the subject and distract Lavender, Harry says, "So, do you know anyone going here?" She grabs a box of clothes and starts to hang them up in her closet so she has something to do with her hands.

"Yeah! My best friend Parvati and her twin Padma are both here! Parvati's actually down on the first floor," she says.

Harry nods.

"So, do you know anyone?" Lavender asks.

Harry smiles, though she knows Lavender won't see it, as both Harry's face and her entire upper half are currently lodged inside her closet. "Yeah, my best friend Ron is here on the third floor," she says. "Her roommate's name is Hermione, and I've heard so much about her that I swear I know her too."

She could mention Malfoy, but then again, Malfoy doesn't deserve the mention, asshole that she is.

Lavender laughs . "I know what you mean! Padma's roommate is a _horse girl_. Like, full-on, insanely-stereotypical horse girl. It's all her roommate talks about, and so her roommate being a horse girl is all Padma can talk about. I think they're going to get along great."

"So, when you say 'horse girl'?" Harry asks.

"I mean she's been riding horses since she was, like, three. Here, let me show you her side of the room. Padma sent a picture in our group chat hours ago. Apparently she got here like, at the crack of dawn or something."

Harry pulls her head out of her closet and walks over. Lavender is still sitting on the floor by her dresser and going through her phone.

"Here!" Lavender says, thrusting her phone screen towards Harry.

Harry grabs the phone and takes in the sheer number of horse-themed decorations that are crowding precisely one half of the room. "Wow."

"Keep scrolling forward," Lavender says encouragingly.

Harry glances skeptically at her, then swipes to the next picture. She stares at it for a long moment, trying to make sense of what she sees. "This isn't real," Harry says bluntly.

"Oh, it is," Lavender says, grinning broadly.

This picture shows the middle of Padma's dorm. Right smack dab in the middle of the floor is a large, padded, rocking horse. It's taken up most of the floor space in the room, and the backdrop of the roommate's horse decorations only adds to the surreality of the image.

Before Harry can further express her disbelief, Ron comes storming into their room.

"I have had _enough!"_ Ron says, without preamble.

Harry hands Lavender's phone back and turns to face Ron. "You've had enough of– what?" she asks.

"Hermione! It's only been an hour and she's already driving me up the fucking wall!"

"Right, right, what's she done?" Harry asks.

Ron sits down on the one clear spot on Harry's bed. "So, she got there first, right? And she was already like, entirely unpacked by the time I got there, just sitting at her desk reading. And I was like, awesome! She's busy, I'll be able to unpack in peace!"

Harry nods.

"I was so wrong! I started hanging my t-shirts in my closet, because you know I only have a hoodie or two to hang up and no dress shirts or dresses, so I figured may as well, and she tells me that's a dumb place to put my shirts! Then I'm hanging up my Chudley Cannons football poster, and she keeps telling me it's positioned badly!"

"Uh huh," Harry says absently. She's decided to start putting some of her other things in her desk while Ron's been talking.

"It's enough to drive a girl mad! Hermione's a nightmare, honestly," Ron says passionately.

Harry jumps when a new voice says, "I'm a _what_?"

Standing in the doorway is a girl– Hermione, Harry thinks– with wild curls floating around her head like a halo. Her hands are planted on her hips, and she's glaring at Ron angrily.

Harry quickly glances between the two, then exchanges a worried glance with Lavender. Harry hopes Lavender won't blame her for this exchange happening in their room.

"Uh–" Ron says, sounding panicked.

_As she should be_, Harry thinks.

"Well? Did you have something you wanted to say to my face, or were you just going to keep talking about me behind my back?" Hermione demands.

Ron started to say, "I'm sorry–"

"Are you? Or are you just sorry you got caught?" Hermione says, cutting her off.

"I didn't know you'd hear me," Ron says petulantly.

Hermione throws her arms out and says, "Really! _Really_? Wow, I never could have guessed that! Good thing I had to go to the bathroom, or I'd never have known what you think about me."

Ron mumbles something that Harry doesn't catch.

"What was that?" Hermione snaps.

"Look, I really am sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything. It's just– you can be a bit overbearing," Ron says.

Hermione is giving Ron a suspicious look. After a moment, she says, "Whatever, we'll have plenty of time to talk this out when we're not trespassing in this room."

Ron gulps nervously and glances at Harry. "Right, uh, Hermione, meet my best friend, Harry. Harry, meet my roommate Hermione."

Harry gets up from her desk and holds out her hand for Hermione to shake.

"Oh, that's where you two are," someone else says.

Harry and Hermione drop their handshake and Harry glances over at the door. The person who'd spoken is wearing a highlighter-yellow t-shirt that clearly marks her as an orientation aide.

"I'm gathering everyone for an icebreaker– right, introductions. Hi, I'm Gemma Farley, I'm your other orientation aide. You haven't seen me yet because I was off directing traffic, but I'm here now!"

"Nice to meet you," Harry mumbles, the same time that the others mumble their own greetings.

"Right, well, it's time for us to go, so," Gemma says, turning and gesturing into the hallway.

Harry sighs and glances at all the things she still has to unpack.

Gemma must see this, because then she says, "Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to unpack later."

At this, Ron starts to head out of the room, and the others quickly follow suit. It seems it's time for a round of icebreakers. Fun.


End file.
